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My Writey Senses are Tingling… (Blog Challenge Day 6)

blog challenge

Hello again, and welcome back to Random Crap About Me. Today’s topic in the blog challenge is (thankfully) less labour-intensive than yesterday’s music-palooza.

“Your 5 Senses Right Now”

Only five? Way to LIMIT me, challenge! I guess I’ll stick to the traditional five… But this is a little awkward. See, I’m going to describe my senses from yesterday, because as of right now, I’m in The Land That Wi-Fi Forgot, so I had to write this yesterday, not knowing what my senses would be sensitating right now. So this is “My 5 senses… 24 hours ago.”

Sight: Messy desk. There’s my library card I couldn’t find when I needed it yesterday, the ms I should be editing right now, a re-haired but half-painted doll head, and a portrait of my kids. Simon has bed-head and Ike is wearing his zebra costume; it was kind of an impromptu thing at Wal-Mart. The light in here this morning is very strange. It’s overcast outside, but the light has a brownish quality to it, and I keep checking to make sure I’m not wearing my sunglasses.

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Thanks, that’s not at all creepy…

 

Hearing: I’ve got the TV on, set to the “hit list” music station. Right now it’s playing old-school Chantal Kreviazuk, which is interesting; usually they don’t play “hits” that are more than a few months old, and this one was big more than a dozen years ago. I can also hear clinking and splashing in the kitchen, where Ike is “doing dishes.” This means that he’s making a big mess, but he’s having fun, so that’s okay.

Touch: I have a very uncomfortable old kitchen chair under my butt, and my desk is pressing into my knees (my kingdom for a desk I can sit cross-legged at, or a stability ball to sit on!). Computer keys under my fingers. Soft old t-shirt, comfortable cargo pants that hug my legs, but not too much. I’ve got an itchy bug bite behind my ear, and my legs are a little sore (both from last night’s walk). Cat purring on my lap, warm and rumbly. Cool air, which I’m enjoying, because I know it will heat up later.

Smell: Bagel. Butter. This is what Ike’s having for breakfast (Simon’s not up yet, so his breakfast isn’t in the mix). Laundry detergent from me washing out the old container in the kitchen. And if I life this cat a little… Guys, no word of a lie, Lucy is the best-smelling cat in the world. I know a lot of people like to sniff their cats, because cats smell lovely*. But Lucy is the best. She smells like a cat, warm and feline, but she’s got other smells going on. She’s the only one of our cats who insists on going outdoors, and her fur seems to absorb the lovely smells of the trees (leaves and needles, lovely scent of bark), the fresh air and the sunshine. Even when she hasn’t been out in a while, she still smells like summer. Oh, but then in cool weather, she comes in smelling like a camp fire. I’ve never seen a good explanation of why this happens, but I’ve had many cats who smelled like smoke when it’s cold out. I LOVE it. But not today… today Lucy is all warm summer cat, and she’s happy to let me sniff. My husband, on the other hand, thinks I’m a cat-huffing freak. Whatever.

Taste: Oatmeal! Steel-cut. It should taste the same as rolled oats, being made of exactly the same stuff, but the texture somehow makes it taste better, just like the way Kraft Dinner spirals taste better than the regular shape. Milk and brown sugar. Tetley tea, with a little milk and just 1/4 of a teaspoon of sugar. Yes, it makes a difference. When I was a kid I had a LOT of sugar in my tea. I’ve cut back, but I still need that tiny bit of sweetness. Two healthy breakfast items ruined with sugar… delicious.

So there you go. You just travelled through time, 24 hours into the past. In my brain. Congratulations!

*Except for my poor Harriet. Sometimes she’s a smelly cat, and I can’t cuddle her, and it makes both of us sad. We’re going to see the vet about that. 😦


Blog Challenge Day 5: Musically Inclined

blog challenge

“10 songs you love right now”

Really? We couldn’t have gone with five, what with it being day five and all?

Fine.

I promise nothing. I don’t pretend to have taste in music that the kids these days call “cool” and “hip” (now get offa my lawn, punks). I don’t like artsy or obscure music. I like stuff I can sing along with, that picks me up or makes me feel something, but that I don’t have to like, y’know, be in that place to like, get it, man. And honestly, a lot of what I love right now is songs that were on the radio years ago, but that I hadn’t heard in years. Now I can get them on my phone. YAYS!

Videos? Why not?

You all know I like Marianas Trench. Well, those of you who have been here for a month or two. You know about Ever After and Sing, Sing (and yes, I’m counting that as number 1 and 2, just try to stop me).  There aren’t music videos for those ones, but a lot of my favourites were, in fact, singles. I know, so mainstream.  This was the first song of theirs that I heard and loved:

Good to You:

Did anyone else think, “I’m singin’ to Nelson. Ain’t I, baby?”

…though for sheer entertainment value, I’d recommend this one, because LOL, the old school 90210, infomercial and GAP commercial.

Hey, remember this song from a few year ago? I’d forgotten about it. Stupid camera noises… I hate when videos interfere with the song. I do love the concept of this video, though.

I’m going to share this one because I’m pissed I can’t get it on iTunes. I mean, I find the song confusing and don’t understand why people want to steal each other’s pens*, but Amy Lee’s voice = eargasm, so I let that slide.

Speaking of Slide (ooh, segue!), I’m kind of loving me some Goo Goo Dolls right now, too. Here’s my favourite, Black Balloon. Another note about this song: it contains what I consider to be the only acceptable use of the word “womb” in all of ever.

Um… *flips through phone*

Oh, here’s another one from quite some time ago (and by quite some time, I mean I was in high school):

Well, that was weird.

And how about another song that was popular Way Back When? 1994, around the time when I was first going, “Holy crap, music is AWESOME.”

I think that’s enough, if you count the sub-links.

What’s that? That was only nine?! OK, how about the last song I bought? Great for when I’m out walking with Jack.

I had no idea they were Canadian until I saw them there snazzy tuxedos. 😉

BOOM, done.

*Yes, I know what they’re really saying. Mondegreens are a specialty of mine, though. 🙂


Blog Challenge Day 4: Deepest Darkest

Happy Independence Day to my American friends! May we never forget the victory of the human will (Smith, and also Jeff Goldblum) over alien forces. That’s it, right? I may have learned American history from movies… 😉

blog challenge

Hoo, boy.

What am I afraid of? Lots of things. Failure. Success. Regret.

But more than anything, I fear… THIS:

If you are, at this moment, screaming and trying to gouge your own eyes out and wondering what I just showed you, count yourself lucky, as this means you’ve never encountered the BASEMENT CENTIPEDE.

Hang on, I need to put some space between myself and that picture before I type any more.

*shudder*

*shiver*

*whimper*

*scream*

*gag*

*shudder more*

There we go.  Hang on…

*NGAAAAAAHHHHHHFLURGL*

OK, it’s gone. Anyway, that’s it. It’s completely irrational. I’ve never been harmed by one of these reclusive creatures, and I’m told they’re beneficial. How? I don’t know, because any time someone tries to tell me, I plug my ears and sing “la la la la la” until whoever is talking just gives me The Look and backs away.

I don’t mind spiders. Beetles sometimes startle me in the garden, but I actually think they’re pretty cool. I can catch a mouse or a snake if I have to and relocate it.

But basement centipedes (or gazillipedes, as they’re known in my brain)… just no. Nothing should have that many skinny little legs. Seriously, the first time I saw one it was in a bathtub, and it looked like a drain clog had come to life, fueled by my own nightmares.

Did I mention that these things move at a speed that can be measured in feet per second, and their legs move in waves?

NOT COOL, NATURE.

Not cool.

PS: I also have a horrible fear of using the telephone, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.


31 Day Blog Challenge, Day 3: Quote-tastic

OK, let’s see, day three… carry the one, exponents before multiplication, and that makes… yep, still day three.

I have to check my work, you see.

blog challenge

My favourite quote.

Just one?! Guys, I have a book FULL of them somewhere, if I could just remember where I put it.

Here’s one of the ones I have hanging over my desk. It gets me through those moments when my inner perfectionist tells me that there’s no point trying if I can’t do it perfectly or better than anyone else:

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“The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those who sang best.”  -Henry Van Dyke

There’s more to it than that, but that’s the bit that my aching brain needs to be reminded of. Frequently.

Please share your own favourites in the comments, if you feel so inclined. 🙂


31 Day Blog Challenge Day 2

Oh, look, here we are again! Day 2, day 2, what to do with you?

blog challenge

“20 Facts About You”

Oi.

Well, I did a post about this a while back. Would it be cheating to refer you there? Yes?

Dangit.

How about a theme? Creative endeavours for $400, Alex.

1. I don’t usually write poetry, but I once wrote a poem about meatloaf while I was drugged up in the hospital. The food, not the singer.

2. My creative spirit/muse/inspiration/whatever seems like an uncomfortably real entity at times. I know he’s not, but really, he’s the only person I have available to bounce ideas off of. I know that I’m talking to myself, but it works.

3. I customize dolls and My Little Pony, but I can’t do it while I’m writing. Like, I can’t do both in the same day, or even week. My brain can only handle one form of creativity at a time. This is sometimes a problem, as it takes forever for me to switch tracks.

4. I’m always surprised when I read over something I wrote and find that it’s actually good. To me, that’s the best feeling in the world. I don’t feel proud of myself often, but I do at those times. REALLY proud.

5. My dad introduced me to Fantasy novels by way of Xanth. I had fantasy movies and fairy tales in my life before that, but those were the first novels I read with magic and adventure on that scale.

6. I blame the aforementioned books for my fondness for terrible puns. I can’t help it, they make me laugh. I try to avoid them in my own writing, but sometimes I still catch them in edits. Sneaky little buggers.

7. I really started coming up with my current world when I was in bed with headaches. I needed something to do with my mind, and reading hurt too much. I knew before then that I was a writer, but this is how I learned to find my own stories.

8. I’ve developed scenes for my stories while I was lucid dreaming. I can’t do it anymore (not napping much, out of practice), but I’ve had a few plot breakthroughs that way. I found it both creepy and amazing. 🙂

9. My husband won’t read anything I write. This used to piss me off, and then I stopped caring. It’s not personal, he just doesn’t like reading novels.

10. Yes, I married someone who doesn’t like reading novels. I love him anyway.

11. English was my best class in high school, followed by theatre, art, and history. I think all of those things help me as a writer.

12. I crave external validation, but I don’t trust it. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a terrible writer, but because of Some Reason (perhaps some mental difficulty, maybe a terrible accident, I don’t know), people act like I’m good at it because they want me to feel good about myself. So they pat me on the head, leave nice comments on my blog, hope I never find out the horrible truth.

13. I may be slightly paranoid.

14. I enjoy photography and would like to learn more about it, but I can’t afford a good camera, and I don’t have the time or the memory space (in my brain) needed to learn what I’d need to for me to do it well. I have a friend who’s a fantastic professional photographer, and I’m very envious of her skill. Seriously, I want to marry my husband again so we can get pictures like these.

15. Even if I did have the money for a great camera, I’d prefer to use it on laser vision correction. My eyes suck, yo.

16. Back to writing: I’m terrible at naming things. People, places, stories. It’s just bad.

17. I love writing short stories, but almost never seem to find time to do it.

18. I totally use writing as an escape from reality. I’m delighted when other people can use my stories for the same purpose.

19. I need to be caffeinated before I can write, but I have to be de-caffeinated before I can paint, because I get shaky hands.

20. If I could change one thing about myself and my creativity, it would be to increase my ability to focus. I love having so many stories and characters buzzing around in my head, and I wouldn’t change the way I see the world, but I do wish I could just sit and work without my mind wandering so much.

Whew! There, twenty more things about myself, and with an impressively low number of off-topic points. Feel free to comment, but I know you’re just doing it to be nice. Stop lying to me! *sob* 😉


31 Day Blog Challenge, Day 1

…because, as we’ve discussed before, I’m not the brightest crayon in the box, and I may be a few piccolos short of an orchestra.

Really, though, I need quick blog posts to get through July, when I’m REALLY ACTUALLY SERIOUSLY going to finish this whole editing thing.

Feel free to laugh, I’ll wait.

You back? OK, then. This is a personal challenge, in which I’ll be revealing things about myself that are sure to not surprise anyone at all, and may only be of interest to no one. And that’s OK! But if you want to read along or join in, I’ll be here. Thanks to Kristen Hope Mazzola for saying “you should do this.” Today seems to be one of those “hey, if it helps me procrastinate, I’m there!” days.

So, what do we have here?

blog challenge

Day 1: Introduction and recent photo.

Um… hi. *shuffles feet, looks at something over your shoulder* I’m Kate. You knew that already. I was born in February of 1981 in Hamilton, Ontario, at a hospital that now has a name that I can neither pronounce nor remember. I was a shy child, but have since blossomed into a socially awkward adult. WHEW, that was close!

I’m a writer, a blogger, a mom, a wife, a rub-o-matic for several cats and walker for one dog. I’m easily distracted and often can’t seem to focus on anything; I can’t watch a whole movie without having something else to do, and sitting on the floor to play with the kids is pretty much beyond me. My brain almost always has something cooking on the back burner, whether it’s a story or random conversations that result in lovely dialogue that I’ll probably never use. I speak out of turn, I’m not good at cleaning up after myself, and I frequently have the sense of humour of a 12-year-old boy.

Writing is often the only thing I can focus on, and even then I need word sprints or something to keep me going for longer than 5 minutes without wandering off to do something else. I’ll read anything but tend to write only speculative fiction. OK, so really all fiction is speculative; you know what I mean. I like magic, I like adventure, I like danger and dragons and having wide, wild worlds to explore, even if those new worlds sometimes look a lot like our own.

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^This is me yesterday. No make-up, no fancy anything, but I did have Lucy giving me love, so that was a good moment. 😉


Cleverness Has an Expiration Date

Great post from Jae at Lit and Scribbles, if you missed it earlier in the week.
I started reading Frankenstein a while ago and thought, “Wow, you can’t get away with that kind of exposition these days” before I gave up completely because I found it boring. Classics are classics for a reason, and they have great value; that doesn’t mean that because something has worked in the past (whether that’s 100 or 5 years ago), we can or should try to emulate it. Yes, Mary Shelley got away with starting with letters that had nothing to do with monsters. That doesn’t mean you should try it with a modern audience that has a thousand other (more compelling) books in your genre to choose from. Know why the old things work, and try something new.

(Yes, I know I just revealed something horrible about myself as a reader and as a person. I don’t have the attention span for many of the classics. I don’t need a book to start with explosions, and John Steinbeck can hook me with pages and pages of descriptions… but a lot of the old writing and the old gimmicks don’t grab me, and I have a lot of other books to read)

*runs and hides in the closet before the Classics Zealots can start hurling heavy, dusty volumes*

Jae's avatarLit and Scribbles with Jae

I’ve been watching a lot of stuff on Hulu lately (especially FMA, thanks a lot Gloria!), so I see way more commercials than I have in a long time—especially since I gave up cable.

I’ve noticed an interesting movement between two competitors, namely Geico and Progressive. They want your money, folks, and they don’t mind bombarding us with ads in the process. Let’s face it, now Hulu is a good chunk of their age range.

Now before you start to *yawn* and click to another page, understand there’s a lesson about cleverness here. And that lesson is, cleverness always has an expiration date. It just may last a little longer for some things than others.

PROGRESSIVE

I don’t even remember the days of Progressive before Flo. According to Wikipedia, she started making her appearance in 2008—and she’s still here 5 years later folks. (Though some are speculating she may…

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Nine Days of Newfoundland – Day 4

OK, guys, if you’re interested at all in Newfoundland, here’s a blog for you to check out. I’m just re-blogging this one post, but have a look back through. There’s a hilarious post on the Great Moose Conspiracy (I commented, b’ys), and some lovely information on speaking Newfinese. Lovely photos, too!

nomaddness's avatarTrailer Trash

Oh geez, by, not da map again!

Oh c’mon, be honest, you were missing my beautiful map, I know you were.

Map

On Day 4, we meandered from Point C, Gros Morne, to Point D, which is….I’d better show you – you’ll never believe me if I just say it.

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Now, I know what you’re thinking – you’re wondering if I’m alphabetically challenged because there appears to be a Point F in between Points C and D on that amazingly glorious map.  As it happens, the F-stop (little photog humour there – heh heh) comes later, after we’d been to E and back (that woulda been a lot cornier if I’d said L instead of E…).  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  First, we went to Dildo Run.

We chose this spot to camp for two days not only because the name made us giggle, but because it’s close to Twillingate…

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Will You Please Go Get My Teeth Out of the Dashboard?

There were a lot of touching Father’s day posts last weekend. Melissa Janda just posted hers… she wins. I don’t even really understand why I’m crying, but… just read, OK?


Well, That Was Fun

I did it. It took longer than it should have and ate up hours that could have been better spent writing,* but I picked a new theme and I PUSHED THE EFFING BUTTON.

It’s not perfect. It doesn’t represent my work in any meaningful way. But it’s fun, it’s got a bit more colour, and it will do until it’s time for me to set up an actual website with fun things like THEMES and BOOK COVERS and THINGS THAT ARE NOT MY BLOG. Huzzah.

So come on in! Have a look around. Everything’s the same, I just re-painted and rearranged the furniture. Mind you don’t trip over that rug there, I need to get some tape under that. Drinks are still in the fridge, you know where to find them. No, help yourself.

If only settling into and redecorating a real house was this simple!

*No, I’m not exaggerating, I really am that indecisive.


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